Penn State students create mural for Petersburg American Legion’s milestone year

At its 100th year celebration Saturday, the Petersburg American Legion Post 150 will unveil a new ten-panel mural that members have hoped to have on the wall for years.

The mural’s ten panels each represent a major war the United States fought and were designed, drawn and painted by Penn State students.

Shelly Ormsby, American Legion Post 150 treasurer and administrative assistant at Penn State, had been searching for someone to paint the mural for the wall of the Legion’s fellowship area for four years.

Last fall, Ormsby was in a meeting at Penn State’s Veterans’ Office in the Boucke Building and Robert Morss, a senior at Penn State and a veteran himself, overheard her talking about the mural.

Morss stopped Ormsby after the meeting to let her know he was interested.

Since last fall, Morss, along with friends he recruited, designed, sketched and painted the 20-foot mural. Each of the ten panels span two feet across.

Morss explained that he probed the minds of veterans at the Legion to learn what they wanted to see in the mural since it would be the backdrop for all future meetings.

“I’m very blessed to be a part of this,” Morss said. “It’s such an awesome experience to be able to imagine something on the wall and then watch it actually appear as time goes on.”

As a secondary education major at Penn State, Morss hopes to become a history teacher after his time at college.

“It’s a big deal,” Morss said about the mural. “I’m hoping this mural is another message for me to teach history and inspire people to be better and to love their country.”

Morss and a consistent crew of about six people spent countless hours at the Legion working on the project. They painted the mural for free by supplying the paint and brushes themselves.

“I couldn’t tell you how many hours,” Morss said. “I’ve spent several all-nighters there. There’s a lot of travel time, a lot of sleepless nights and a lot of passion going into this.”

Shae Rider, a senior anthropology major at Penn State, has always been “a really artsy person” and was originally going to major in art. She met Morss at a mutual friend’s party and he asked her if she’d be interested in helping out with the mural.

“That’s been my summer project,” Rider said. “It’s been keeping me busy and it’s been a lot of fun to work on.”

Rider said the mural, which is being kept under wraps until Saturday, utilizes a lot of symbolism, features different types of military technology and “shines light” on different branches of the military.

“I have a lot of close family and friends who have been a part of the military and I know it’s going to mean a lot to a lot of people,” Rider said. “I hope that a lot of people like it as much as we’ve enjoyed working on it because it’s a big project.”

The panels of the mural, in order, are “Valley Forge: Revolutionary War,” “Star-Spangled Banner: War of 1812,” “Aftermath of Pickett’s Charge: Civil War,” “In the Trenches: WWI,” “Midway: WWII,” “Attack at Dawn: Korea War,” “Call for Fire: Vietnam War,” “On the Tarmac: Gulf War,” “9/11” and “Apollo Lake: War in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

“(The mural) changed in the midst (of painting),” Ormsby said. “It was great to see it transform.”

Ormsby said the 100th year celebration, open to the public, begins at noon Saturday with the unveiling of the mural. The celebration includes free food and drinks.

“We’re going to have ten different people representing each of the panels (during the unveiling),” Ormsby said. “They will say a few sentences about why we tied the person to the panel.”

Morss encourages community members to come to the Legion for the grand opening.

“None of this mural painting experience is about me or the painters, it’s about trying to honor the people who have come before us,” Morss said. “It’s been a wild ride and it’s all coming to fruition here on Saturday.”